smaragdus wrote: ↑Tue Jun 26, 2018 11:25 amI usually do not respond to people using the "constructive criticism" cliche but I will reply since I have communicated with you for quite some time.
I hate all kinds of censorship including self-censorship. I always express my opinion the way I like to express it.
I can totally understand frustrations when software drops something that was previously liked/loved. Opera 12 is possibly one of the biggest blows in that regard. Thankfully we have devs who are interested in alternatives, and I'm glad for it.
I mean, if you find that manner of criticism effective at reaching the desired results when dealing with freeware devs then I suppose one would be more inclined to voice things that way. I just haven't seen it be effective compared to constructive criticism, which is simply about being able to detail the problem and suggest practical solutions (critique that's 'actionable' is a good definition for it). It's not about censoring things one is passionate about.
Like in this instance the Otter dev apparently had various users criticize the previous icon set as being outdated, and so they updated it. Some had real problems with it, such as yourself, but notice no one described why they didn't like it and how it could be improved, rather posting it's 'disgusting', 'obnoxious', and 'ugly'. Now picture the primary dev, who isn't a visual designer, reading feedback where
both the old (check the Github issues)
and new have been described as 'ugly' (which tbf is probably true), but without posting what could be changed and how, or even examples of what they prefer or like.
Opera 12's icon set, which I believe you've mentioned you like (as I do too), could similarly be described as flat, monotone, and straightforward, yet I've seen some of those descriptors also leveled as criticisms of Otter's new icon set (personally I could detail what some of its flaws are but I'm just speaking of those who've critiqued it so far). Without more clear discussion of what works and doesn't I could see it being hard for the dev to please everyone since the feedback is so barebones. Luckily the browser has a setting to change the icon set, so it's a bit of a non-issue.
Also unlike large companies/organizations like Mozilla, Opera and Google, a benefit of freeware/open source is devs are usually far likelier to listen to smaller user requests and implement changes, so it's not like one is shouting into the void in any hopeless pursuit of change. The flip side is since they're often just individuals they can also lose motivation with passion projects, unlike large companies which aren't affected by this, which is something I keep in mind with interactions.
I've had many features and changes implemented in freeware/open source programs I use regularly simply by detailing it well, describing the benefits over the existing implementation, and being polite. Just recently a dev implemented a significant change to their software based on my proposal which for
years had gone pretty much ignored, in large part I'd say since it seems no one previously had outlined it well.
Just my thoughts on it.
So if the developer does not provide official support for other icon sets or an option to restore the old icon set I am done with Otter.
Just in case it was missed, a user posted both the browser setting that allows the icon set to be changed, and the icon set itself, in the 5th post of that DnD Sanctuary topic you posted, prior to your posts.